The Moon Burns Tonight, The Sun Drowns Tomorrow
by EternityRoze262
Summary: In which friendship continues to develop and the Gaang notices some sparks between two people. Zuko and Katara? Surely that couldn't happen unless the moon started burning and the sun drowned. -Slice of life snippets after Southern Raiders
1. To Hear What Isn't Being Said

I've been working on my other story _A Lifetime_ but then a bunch of ideas came into mind, so I decided to go crazy and have some fun. Not quite drabbles but not quite long length chapters. Dark themes, fluff, humor, me having too much fun! Grab a cup of tea and thanks for reading!

~Roze

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: One :

To Hear What Isn't Being Said

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"That move you did to the leader of the Southern Raiders back on the ship- what was that?" Zuko asked Katara when the two were far from the rest of the group's hearing range. It had been two days since their little field trip, and Katara still appeared the slightest bit shaken up from her hefty decisions. The rest of the group was growing concerned. Zuko had then decided to confront her, being the only person who had been present to witness her actions.

Katara hesitated before answering, her eyes lowered. "Bloodbending."

From the cold tone of her short response, Zuko could tell that it was something she was not proud of, nor was it something she wanted to remember. But he was curious and, if anything, wanted for her to forgive herself in addition to having forgiven him.

"Have you… ever been bloodbended?" he continued on carefully. She appeared more distance than usual. Her eyes dazed as if her mind was in another world.

"Yes."

Zuko blinked, carefully observing the way she held herself together in such a predicament. He was unfazed by her honest answers. After all, he was so used to being the monster.

"What does it feel like?"

Now it was Katara's turn to blink and look up at him in shock. "What?" she said, as if she couldn't believe that Zuko had really asked her that question: that he was taking interest in her horrid skill.

The firebender met her eyes, making sure she knew that he was serious. "What does it feel like…? To be bloodbended?"

"Why are you asking?" she asked in a hushed voice.

"I want to know."

 _So I can share that pain._

After a long silence, Katara shook her head.

"You're crazy," she said gently and started to walk away.

"It was beautiful."

That made her stop in her tracks. Her jaw dropped and eyes widened. It was probably the first time someone had complimented her for performing such a horrendous skill.

"That passion… that drive to do whatever it takes for a loved one," Zuko explained, "If only everyone could see that." When people were at their most unrelenting state, their most vulnerable state, _their most powerful state…_ that was the moment their true selves were revealed. Naked and exposed. It could be considered intimate.

Katara exhaled a hot breath of air. She gave him a determined glance that said everything. "You want to know what it feels like to be bloodbended?"

She moved inland and Zuko took the notion to follow her. They regrouped with Toph who was alone, relaxing in the center of the courtyard.

"Sit down," the waterbender ordered, pointing to the edge of the stone bordered water fountain. Zuko did as he was told. "Toph, I need some earth."

Toph raised an eyebrow, curious but willing to do as the waterbender demanded. She stomped a foot on the ground and a flat sculpted boulder the size of Zuko erupted in front of them.

"Lightly on his legs," Katara directed and the earthbender complied. Zuko's eyes flashed to meet a pair of confident, blue eyes, and his breathing relaxed. The boulder pressed onto his thighs, applying enough pressure so that he could withstand the weight but not budge.

"And what exactly are we doing?" Toph asked, preventing the boulder from completely crushing the teenager.

"An experiment. Zuko requested it."

Katara strode over to the immobilized Zuko. "Tell me when your legs feel numb."

After a short while, Zuko looked in her direction. "Okay."

Katara raised a hand up to signal Toph to release the boulder. She stood directly in front of the firebender. "Now walk."

Zuko tried to stand up. That was the easy part. All that pressure on his legs had made them fall asleep. He could feel his legs tingling, _burning_ , the blood and nerves in his body now rushing to his lower half. Zuko grunted, struggling to even stand up straight. "Argh!" He wobbled forward, immediately reaching a hand out which landed heavily on Katara's shoulder for support. Then he attempted to take a single step toward her, but he felt like he was stepping on pins and needles, almost like when he had redirected lightning against his father.

"Hard to move and control, isn't it?" she finally voiced. It was more a statement than a question.

"Very."

She waited until he could regain a proper stance, studying his face contoured with pain, but also mixed with a hint of awe and determination. "Do you still think something like that can be beautiful?"

"Like I explained. It's not the ability," Zuko said releasing his hold on her, his fingertips brushing against the edge of her cloth as he did so. "It's you doing it."

There was a moment of silence as Katara's face softened. From the side, Toph shifted her feet comfortably, enjoying the show in front of her.

"You're… crazy," Katara said for the second time that afternoon- this time though, with a fragile voice. Zuko could've sworn he saw her lips curve up faintly as she turned her head away from him. She headed toward the main house, refusing to make eye contact with Zuko. Perhaps if she had, she would have surely started crying, not because he had hurt her, but because he had helped her face the other side of herself that she feared; because he had helped her realize her complete self.


	2. Who's Really The Blind One Around Here

I have way too much fun with this story. They haven't seen the play yet.

~Roze

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: Two :

Who's Really The Blind One Around Here

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"Zuko, I have a math problem that I need help solving!" The short earthbender clutched Zuko's arm, dragging him away from the group.

"Math problem?" he cried out. "Why don't you ask Sokka?"

"Because you're the oldest one here!" Then she grinned knowingly, not that anyone else could see it. "And you're the only one who can help me solve this."

Zuko tried to shake her off but she held a firm grip. Behind them, the rest of the group watched them leave- confused, but making no attempt to stop them. It had been another long day of firebending practice with Aang, and Sifu Hotman had planned to have a couple hours to himself to cool down and plan more firebending exercises. But he supposed she _did_ still need to get back at him for burning her feet- solving one little math problem couldn't hurt if it was a step towards clemency. With a defeated sigh, he reluctantly followed behind the girl.

Of all the places they could've went to, they ended up on the beach.

"So where is this math problem?" Zuko asked, irritated and wanting to get it over with.

Toph cracked her knuckles, all the while holding a sly smile. "Allow me to show you."

She struck her hands out into an earthbending stance and dug her toes into the moist sand beneath her. In the next moment, she swiftly lifted her arms up, and there on the sandy surface, were two sand sculptures that were half the size of the earthbender.

"What is that?" Zuko squatted down to examine the nearest sand sculpture shaped like a human morphed with the face of a maliciously angry saber-tooth moose lion.

" _That's_ what I think you look like," Toph replied nonchalantly. There was no scar, but it looked worse.

"Well you're completely wrong! That looks hideous!"

"Really? I thought it was a perfect fit for my image of you," she teased.

"Not even close! And who is this?" Zuko pointed to the figure next to the sand sculpture of "him".

"Uhh Katara! Obviously!" She balled her fists in excitement and turned toward the firebender with a proud smile. "Okay, be honest. Did I make her pretty enough?"

Pretty was an understatement. Toph had created sand-sculpture Katara into the stereotypical definition of a… "pretty" teenage girl. It was too much. Too much everything. Everywhere. It wasn't even Katara anymore.

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose. "Sure, yeah, whatever. Just get on with this math problem."

"This is it. See?"

"All I see is me and Katara."

"Exactly. That's the problem. You and Katara."

The teenager let out a frustrated groan, taking a step back to the beach house. "I've wasted my time."

But Toph wouldn't let him go that easily. She crossed her arms. "Listen here, Sparky. There's some real math behind all of this. Sugar Queen took twice as long as the rest of us did to forgive you, meaning you had to put in twice the amount of effort to earn her forgiveness, right?"

"I guess," he responded, stopping in his tracks.

"Which means that something twice as bad had to have happened between the two of you." Toph thought back to the time Katara had instantly denied that Jet used to be her boyfriend and remembered the physical reaction that had stimulated from that. What had Jet said just before that?

" _Why won't you trust me?"_

"She trusted you at one point, didn't she?" Toph inquired.

Zuko remained collected. "What's your point?"

"You know, I always wondered why something _felt off_ when you two were together. Like yesterday's _experiment_ for example."

"I was trying to help."

"Oh, I know. And it worked too," she confidently stated.

"Then what felt off?"

Toph tucked an elbow in so that her forearm was jutted out parallel to the ground. She positioned her hand into an earthbending stance and made jagged movements. "I can tell when someone is lying. There's a physical reaction with their breathing and heartbeat. So I was listening out for that from the both of you yesterday, and at some point, I started hearing only one set of a heartbeat."

Zuko recalled the situation. Then a realization struck him. "But… how is that possible when Katara and I were both there?"

"I'll tell you one thing. She's starting to trust you again… for your heartbeats and breathing to sync up like that."

The firebender furrowed his eyebrows. Toph grinned at his reaction.

"What does that have anything to do with math?!" he suddenly yelled.

"Did I solve the math problem right?"

He looked down and saw that while he was distracted, she had already gone ahead and _solved the equation_. Through sand sculptures!

 **Sculpture of Claimed-To-Be Katara + Sculpture of Scary Zuko = Sculpture of a heart symbolizing the synchronization of heartbeats she was talking about.**

The sight of that implication made Zuko growl and kick her sand sculptures until they became piles of sand again. "No! You did not solve it right! That isn't even Katara! That is a floozy! And I don't look like a demon! Azula does!"

Steam was already blowing out from his nostrils. He was about to storm off when a light tug on his sleeve held him back once again. Zuko whipped around, expecting another ridiculous teasing statement. But before he could yell at her, he caught sight of her form which had done a complete 180 in that split second. She no longer had on a smug look. Instead, her head lowered and she kept a loose grip on the edge of his sleeve.

"Can you… show me what Katara looks like?" Toph asked in a sincere tone. She continued on before Zuko could ask why. "She once told me that I was really pretty back in Ba Sing Se. I couldn't return the compliment, and I still can't because I don't know what she looks like."

Sometimes Zuko hated that he had a soft spot. With a light sigh, he sat cross-legged on the sand, bringing Toph down with him.

"Make the sand sculpture of Katara again," he said roughly.

Toph smiled and rebuilt the same inaccurate sculpture of Katara. She kept her feet implanted in the sand to feel for all the adjustments Zuko made.

"You know this doesn't even matter," he suddenly commented. "You already know who she is."

The earthbender's smile widened, the smug look returned.

First Zuko lightly brushed off the access amount of sand built up in sand-sculpture Katara's chest, then smoothed out her arms so that they didn't exhibit any cracks. He added her mother's necklace around her neck, and wiped the over-exaggerated smile indented on her face, replacing it with a firm line that gently curved on the ends. Finally, the sharply, defined eyes were erased. Using the tip of his finger, Zuko drew in softer eyes: some curves and a dot. It was all an amateur attempt, and one could hardly call it perfect, but that didn't seem to bother Toph.

"She does this… knot thing with her hair, but I don't know how to make that out of sand," Zuko noted.

"That's okay," Toph smirked. "This already proves my point."

Zuko blinked absently.

Everything went still and quiet.

He wanted to unleash a fistful of fire.

"Have you ever seen the Earth King and his silly bear? Can you show me what they look like? Ooh! Twinkletoes too! I want to work on my sandbending," Toph immediately pressed on with an innocent smile. He remained quiet but readily agreed to show her.


	3. Yang Is To Yin, As Tui Is To

"Take it easy little lady. I'm sure the sand folks who built this baby know how to get around here." Just have fun with this story and take it how you will! Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear your thoughts :)

~Roze

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: Three :

Yang Is To Yin, As Tui Is To...

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"I got some analogy test questions for everyone," Toph merrily announced the next morning while the Gaang was finishing up breakfast on the stairs of the courtyard.

"Let's hear it," Sokka remarked, shoving his mouth with Katara's cooking.

The blind earthbender proceeded to ask the first question. "Yang is to Yin, as Tui is to…?"

"La!" Aang exclaimed proudly.

"One point for Twinkletoes!" Toph cheered and then continued. "Alright. Tui is to La, as light is to…?"

"Dark!" Aang answered again.

"Aang's killing it!"

"Hey! Do another one! I'm ready now!" Sokka insisted, swallowing a mouthful of food.

"Okay then. How about this? Light is to dark, as sun is to-"

"Moon!" Suki shouted just before Sokka could make out a sound.

"Suki! That was mine!" the water tribe boy cried.

"Gotta be faster than that," she teased.

"Nice," Toph grinned. "Sun is to moon, as fire is to-"

"WATER!" Sokka howled, holding out the last syllable.

"Jeez, you guys are much more into this than I thought you would be." The group of friends eagerly awaited the next question, huddled in closely so they could be the first one to answer. It had obviously been a long time since they had enjoyed themselves.

Sokka nudged the frowning Prince Zuko with his elbow. "Zuko, you gotta participate too. It's the rules."

"I'm trying!" the firebender retorted, but clearly disinterested.

"TRY HARDER!"

Then the earthbender crept in a suggestive smirk. "Alright, fire is to water, as Zuko is to-"

"Katara!" the Prince immediately answered, to which the group minus Toph turned to give him a strange look. "What? She's the only waterbender I know!" Zuko tried to explain. He quickly returned to eating his breakfast.

Toph had to hold back the urge to burst into laughter. Oh, she had set this up reaaal good. Even though Katara remained quiet, Toph could feel the physical reaction emitted from her body. Now to pull off the finishing move. "Well, if that's how you guys see it," she snickered. "So according to all your answers, and how everything has been lining up, that must mean that Yin and Yang is to Zuko and Katara, as-"

"SOZIN'S COMET IS TO THE LOSERLORD TRYING TO DESTROY THE WORLD!" Sokka butted in before Toph could even finish her sentence.

"Without pants!" Aang jumped in.

"Or firebender powers!" Suki added.

"With the moon burning!" Katara finally voiced.

"And the sun drowning!" Zuko said, spilling his breakfast.

"IT DOESN'T WORK!" the group chorused.

Toph threw back her head and release an amused cackle.

"What's so funny?" Zuko asked annoyed.

She continued to laugh hysterically and then caught her breath. "Your reactions! You guys brought it upon yourselves. Ooh! Listen to this one! A racing heartbeat is to lying, as overreacting is to-"

"Stop it-!" Zuko and Katara shouted but then abruptly cut off, staring at each other with their jaws lowered in mid-sentence when they realized they had spoken the same thing at the same time.

"It's not…" Katara started.

"…like that…" Zuko finished hesitantly.

Toph flashed a huge grin and then rested her hands behind her head, satisfied with her work. "Point proven."


	4. To Exist Amongst The Stars

Dark undertones this chapter. Thanks for reading!

~Roze

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: Four :

To Exist Amongst The Stars

* * *

"There you are. We were looking for you."

Zuko directed his gaze to the source of the gentle voice and noticed Katara leaning against the balcony railings adjacent from him. Through the moonlit darkness, he could see a warm smile on her face and a bowl of soup in one hand. She bent the liquid from the container, suspending it in the air before throwing the empty bowl to him. Zuko caught it skillfully, and Katara waterbended the soup in his direction, carefully placing it back into the bowl. In the next moment, she stood on top of the railings and proceeded to pull herself onto the rooftops.

"I didn't mean to worry anyone," Zuko responded when she reached him.

She sat next to him, wrapping her arms around her knees. "No, I know you can take care of yourself. We just wanted to make sure you were okay."

The firebender lifted the bowl, reheating the soup until steam rose from it. "Thanks," he said holding the bowl out. Their eyes met briefly in the moonlight.

Just a few hours ago, their entire group had spent the evening at the local theatre where they saw the Ember Island Players' rendition of _The Boy in the Iceberg_. What a horrible decision that had been. Not only had the characters and storyline been absolutely cringe worthy, but the ending was one of the most disheartening things they had ever seen, especially for Aang and Zuko. The whole audience had been in a standing ovation, cheering, when they were killed by Azula and the Fire Lord. Zuko had isolated himself when the group returned to the beach house, drowning in his thoughts once again.

"You don't have to stay here," he stated. There was bitterness in the way he replied, but Katara was sure that was due to the stress of re-watching his old self in the play and not because of her personally.

"I know. It's just nice being away from everyone once in a while."

He took a sip of the warm soup.

"And…" Katara continued, hugging her knees tighter. "I want to make up for treating you so badly before."

He didn't take his eyes off of the night sky in front of him. "I deserved it."

"Still, I'm sorry about what I said to you that first day you joined our group."

"Don't say that." His raspy voice sounded too serious.

"What? Why?" She shifted her body toward him, hoping he would let her in.

"You meant every word you said in that room."

A light, cool breeze blew between them, gently fluttering the ends of their loose hair.

"Yeah, I was angry… and hurt." Her eyes wandered around shamefully. "I don't like making the same mistake twice," she admitted softly.

"I've made the same mistakes too many times."

"But you never gave up. Not once." Katara gave him a playful smile. "It was annoying."

To her delight, Zuko returned the smile. His golden eyes appeared glossier than usual, reflecting the stars that glimmered in the darkened sky. But that smile disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. "There were many times when I did want to give up… when I just wanted to…"

Katara knew what he was going to say. She wanted to reach out to him, but held herself back. "Zuko…"

"So when you told me that you'd end my destiny right then and there, at first, I was upset."

Silence greeted him, listening to his emotional revelation.

"But, now I think about it, that's the most reassuring thing I could've heard from you at the time."

Katara's eyes widened. "Hey… are you feeling alright? I swear I didn't poison the soup."

His face softened as he turned to face her. "All my life, I've had people who were out to kill me. Those who discovered my true identity, hated me. Those who never found out, liked who I was pretending to be." He kept a careful eye on her.

 _You were the first person to trust me after we met as enemies- a choice made by yourself without influence from others._

"I'm glad you said what you did back at the Western Air Temple."

 _Because it means our time imprisoned together meant something to you too._

"I think I would've been more worried if you had forgiven me right away."

 _And that's the honest truth._ But he didn't want her to get the wrong idea. Filtering out his assertion was the best option. But that didn't stop him from wondering why he was growing heartily open with her.

"Maybe it didn't have to be that way," Katara finally proposed.

"No." Zuko replied firmly, facing the bowl of soup in his hands. "It had to be that way."

"You would really choose to go through those same events again if you could redo it?"

"It's made us who we are. If I had chosen to go with Uncle, maybe we all could've regrouped earlier. I could've immediately started teaching firebending to Aang. But I would've never learned what it means to restore my _own_ honor. My firebending would've still been driven by rage, giving Aang the wrong impression."

He met her gaze again. Her dimmed blue eyes stared back wordlessly as he continued. "We would've never gone after the guy who murdered your mother. You would've never found closure and _we…_ "

Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he snapped his head in the opposite direction as he realized what he was about to say.

"We…?" Katara gently pressed on, trying to catch a glimpse of his face.

 _We wouldn't be as close as we are now._

He lowered the bowl, leaving it to rest on his lap and brought a hand up to cover his agonized face. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I've said too much."

"No, it sounds like you need this right now." She felt a rush of cold air blow past her when Zuko then decided to turn his back to her. With a sharp inhalation, she swiftly turned the other way so that they were sitting back to back, but maintained a safe distance from each other- just like the way they had been in the crystal catacombs of Ba Sing Se.

The comfort of darkness and the emotional responses stimulated by the late evening, when the mind was exhausted, tended to invoke an outlet of one's introspection- those haunting late night thoughts.

The air grew silent as Zuko stared blankly at his half-eaten dinner while Katara rested her head on her knees, pulling them closer to her chest. Before he could turn into daytime-angry Zuko, and her into motherly-loving Katara, she wanted a night to vocally confirm everything.

"Why do you say it's the most reassuring thing for you?" Katara finally asked glancing cautiously to the side. "I was pretty much telling you I'd end your life."

Maybe it was the fact that he couldn't see Katara that made him feel like he was alone, but not completely alone. He found that replying back to her question was similar to the times he talked to himself. "The last few years have been hard. I had pretty much already accepted the fact that I would someday die with the life I was living. But I'd worked this far to get where I am. I don't want my life to be ended by someone so dishonorable. Not after everything I've sacrificed, not after all the pain I've endured."

Being positioned back to back, they felt so distant, yet so close at the same time. The starry skies wrapped around them like a blanket. Zuko whispered his next words slowly as if it were a forbidden spell. "That's why…if I were to be killed by someone, I'd rather have it be by you."

Katara flinched, raising her head from her huddled arms. She felt a chill run through her spine. Had she heard Zuko correctly? Her body stiffened and she clutched at her sleeves, refusing the urge to turn around. In that sentence alone, not only did he confess that he saw her as a powerful and honorable person, but that he trusted her with his life.

She relaxed her body, leaning back until she met his warm back. Choosing her words carefully, she whispered, "I won't let anyone else try to kill you, Zuko."

Katara released a quiet, heartfelt smile when she felt Zuko respond to her bodily contact, leaning his back against her as well. Maybe when morning came, all of this would be forgotten and become a passive thought. But until then, they remained in a comfortable silence. And just as the stars continued to exist amongst each other in the night sky, so did they.


	5. Engulfed in Liquidy Hot Flames

Don't try this at home unless you are a firebender!  
Love, Sokka

Oh yeah, and Roze says thanks for reading! -insert happy Sokka face emoticon here-

* * *

: Five :

Engulfed In Liquidy Hot Flames

* * *

"Zuko buddy!" An enthusiastic voice rang throughout the musty beach house corridors. Sokka barged into the firebender's room with a wide grin, flaunting out a large bottle gripped in one hand. In his other hand, held two small cups. "What'd ya say we have a little… _taste test_? Just the two of us men?"

Zuko finished putting his arms through the sleeves of his top robe. He eyed the bottle that had two words written on it.

Cactus Juice.

But what the water tribe boy didn't know was that the drink wasn't comprised of _just_ Cactus Juice. It was an exquisite homemade mixture of alcoholic drinks abandoned by the Fire Lord. As a child, Zuko had been warned by his Uncle to steer clear of that particularly strong drink.

"I know what you're thinking, and don't worry! I have experience with Cactus Juice," Sokka proudly reassured at Zuko's hesitation. But experience wouldn't be enough to prepare him for the bottle he had in his hands.

He eagerly set the beverage and cups on a side table near a window.

The firebender shot him a puzzled look. "We don't really have time for that, Sokka."

Sokka frowned, giving him shifty eyes. "Oh, so there's enough time to go stargazing with Katara but not enough time to do something manly with me? I see how it is."

Zuko gritted his teeth. "We didn't plan for that to happen." He strode over to the opposite side of the table. "And we were just talking."

"Okay, okay," Sokka said rather unconvinced. Despite Zuko's dismissal, he carefully poured the "Cactus Juice" into the two cups. "So then, there's not anything… going on, right?"

There was no nervous reaction from Zuko as he replied. "What do you mean?"

"You know," Sokka wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, "Between you and Katara?"

Zuko's eyes perked up. "Oh, right."

The younger teenager bit his lip, containing his urge to pounce on Zuko. If everything went according to plan, he would completely embarrass the firebender by exposing his crush on Katara!

But… Zuko still appeared too composed. "We're friends again thanks to your help. I'm really grateful that I can rely on you," he declared graciously.

Sokka's eyes grew large at the response. He felt his whole face melt. The poor guy across from him was oblivious to the signs of love! Maybe it was due to dating that gloomy girl back in the Fire Nation. Well then, it was a good thing Sokka-The-Love-Guru was there to help the firebender regain his honor as a man!

"Uhh… yeah, no problem," Sokka managed out, suddenly feeling awkward. He thought Zuko would've easily caught on to his implications. Instead, the reply he received disoriented his once organized strategy of confrontation. "But I meant… like more than friends, because you two are both teenagers… I mean, I don't know how Katara feels, but I just wanted to check with how you felt first, NOT that I think you're a bad guy or anything- but-"

"What are you saying?" Zuko impatiently asked, cutting off Sokka from his rambles. He impulsively grabbed the cup full of Cactus Juice and brought it up to his mouth.

Sokka hesitated. There was no other way to get it through to Zuko.

"Are you in love with Katara?"

And Zuko spat his drink all over Sokka.

"Ahhhh!" the water tribe boy yelped in disgust, frantically trying to wipe off all the liquid.

"Sorry," Zuko said rather unconcerned. His eyes wandered to the dusty, stoned floor, completely forgetting that Sokka was currently drenched. "She's strong and has a good heart, but I don't like her- uh... that way."

"Mhm… you know, that doesn't really sit well with the fact that you just _spit your Cactus Juice all over my face_!"

Finally, Zuko realized what he had just done and his entire face tightened defensively. "I wasn't expecting you to ask that!"

"But we're guys, Zuko! You're supposed to tell me who your secret crushes are and stuff!"

"I don't usually talk about that."

"Which is why I'm here," Sokka articulated while gesturing a hand to himself. Then he wrapped an arm around Zuko's shoulder in a brotherly manner, eyeing him suspiciously. "Okay, so you don't even have the tiniest bit of a crush on my sister?"

"No."

"You prefer gloomy girls over my sister?!"

"No! I mean, not really, but…" Zuko shook his head and then turned to exit the room. "Look, we should really focus on preparing ourselves for Sozin's Comet."

"Nonononono!" Sokka circled around, spreading his arms out to block cranky-boy's path. "We are finishing this talk right here! Right now!"

Zuko groaned in exasperation. "Why? I already told you everything!"

"Because-!" Sokka started in a cracked, high pitched voice but then stopped himself short and cleared his throat. "Alright, look. This is talking." He pointed between himself and Zuko rapidly.

" _This_ ," he emphasized, "is not talking." He clasped his hands together, his body curled like a noodle while his eyes widened, appearing to sparkle in the sunlight as he dreamily gazed off into the distance. He abruptly returned to his previous stance before Zuko could protest. "And that was you two last night! I saw you! So you better tell me what's up."

Zuko did not appear amused. "What's up is that we're friends again."

"But you two were awfully close to each other." Sokka recalled seeing the two of them sitting back to back. The fact that their backs had even been touching and that they stayed in that position for almost half an hour staring off into the starry skies was what gave him second thoughts. "That's like something Suki and I would do. And why did you two stay up there for so long when you were already done talking?"

"I don't know! Because… we were there?"

"Because you like her?" Sokka tried again, rubbing his wet chin.

"Enough with that already!" Zuko balled his fists.

"Hey, all I wanted to know was if you had any feelings for her. She _is_ my sister and I care about her."

With the honest intentions revealed, Zuko released a heated sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Don't worry. If I ever do, then I promise I'll let you… punch me or something." He grumbled the last few words, hoping they were enough to satisfy.

Sokka's frown deepened. "That confident huh?"

Instead of replying with words, Zuko poured more Cactus Juice into his empty cup. When it was filled to the brim, he took a step back and, with a swift flick of his fingers, lit the liquid inside the two cups. Sokka recoiled with a squeal as burnt-orange flames flickered to life.

The hot flames danced atop the cool liquid, burning with energy fueled by the alcoholic fluids.

In the next instant, the firebender reached for his cup, raising it forward. Dark shadows traversed his face as he stared waiting for a response.

Sokka was convinced. Zuko really didn't have any feelings for Katara, or at least any that he was conscious of. Nonetheless, that much was enough to keep Sokka content and worry-free. "Fine." He lifted his own brightly flaming cup to match the same height as Zuko's and then smiled. "But honestly Zuko, you need to live a little."

"Me? Why?"

"You have to ask?" Sokka pulled back his cup and blew out the flames before giving Zuko a frisky look. "My first girlfriend turned into the moon."

Zuko smirked at the statement. He brought his fiery cup of Cactus Juice to his lips, blowing out the flames with a single breath. "That's rough, buddy."

They drank to that.


	6. Because Friendship Transcends Darkness

Well this chapter turned out longer than I expected. More action with the entire Gaang!

~Roze

* * *

: Six :

Because Friendship Transcends Darkness

* * *

"Oh good. You're all here," came a lively voice.

The Gaang turned to see the earthbender strutting towards them.

It was Katara and her motherly instinct that incited her to speak out first. "Toph! Is something wrong?"

"Yeah," she replied bluntly. "I've noticed that sometimes you guys are blinder than a badgermole on cactus juice. So I've come up with a genius training course to help strengthen our teamwork!"

Katara and Zuko struck a cautious glance at each other. "This isn't going to turn out to be like another one of your analogy test questions, right?" the waterbender spoke for the both of them.

"Pfft- of course not!" Toph waved a hand off dismissively at the question. "Why would you even think of that?" She smirked, causing Zuko to groan heavily into his hands.

"Hey, I like the sound of strengthening our teamwork," Sokka commented to which Suki voiced an agreement. "So let's hear what you got in mind."

At this, Toph merrily pulled out a handful of cloth strips from behind her back. "We're going to have… a blind day."

The group lined up in front of the earthbender, awaiting her instructions.

"Here's how this is going to work. You're all going to be blindfolded except for one person who will be the eyes of the group. That person is not allowed to use any bending or weapons but can do anything else to keep the group together. The only rule for those who are blindfolded is that they have to keep the blindfold on at all times. I'm slipping in cactus juice to those who break the rule!"

Zuko leaned in to grumble to Sokka, "Why did you have to find that bottle?"

"Why did your family have to leave that bottle?" the water tribe boy grumbled back.

Toph continued with her explanation. "I shouldn't have to make any threats because this will be good practice. So just keep the blindfolds on, 'kay?

Aang looked at his group of friends, furrowing his eyebrows. A corner of his mouth curved up in confusion. "So who's going to be the eyes of the group?"

"Well, since you'd be putting all of your trust into this person, we'll want to practice with someone who's new to the group- someone we haven't built much trust with yet…" The earthbender paused, allowing everyone to take in what she said. Their eyes grew large with realization as they simultaneously shifted their attention towards… "Looks like it's you, Zuko!"

"What?!" the teenager shouted in disbelief.

Toph simply erupted in laughter. "Have fun trusting Zuko! Hahahahahaaa!"

The rest of the group stared at Zuko like he had just committed a crime. He could understand why they would be so worried about putting their compete trust in him of all people, especially blindfolded. After all, they were still getting used to the way he performed as a team member.

Sokka crossed his arms. "You better not make us run into a wall."

Minutes after the announcement of the training course, the four friends tied the strips of cloth tightly around their eyes. While Katara and Aang had their bending, Sokka carried his space sword sheathed and strapped onto his back, and Suki had her combat skills. Zuko was only grateful that Toph had allowed him to use his own combat skills for defense.

The Prince gulped.

Sure, he was used to giving out orders to the crew of his ship back in the good old days, but this was something completely different. He had never been instructed to lead a group of blindfolded _friends_ before. What was even more pressuring was how they were all relying on him to guide them through the course.

"…and make sure to describe exactly what's going on every step of the way," Sokka insisted. Even Zuko knew that Sokka was the idea guy. It was only natural that he should have been the eyes of the group. But Toph was a sneaky creature. She obviously had another motive up her sleeve.

"Aw don't worry Sokka," Aang cut in. "Zuko's a smart guy. He'll know what to do."

Zuko smiled at the comment, only a bit disappointed that no one could see his smile and share the moment with him.

"Let's start off easy. How about you all follow me." Toph led the way into the forest, whistling as if it was the simplest thing in the whole world.

Zuko was about to take a step forward, but then saw how the four blindfolded friends were turning their heads around randomly like a herd of lost koala-sheep. "Umm… why don't we all hold hands or hold onto each other's shirt or… something?"

"Suki!" Sokka immediately called out.

"I'm here," the Kyoshi Warrior called back, and the two joined hands.

Aang and Katara easily found each other as well, and it wasn't long before Katara joined hands with Suki. When Sokka reached out his free hand towards the firebender, he slightly grimaced at the notion, even though it was his idea. As a compromise, he grabbed onto Sokka's wrist, pulling them all along.

The firebender treaded after Toph, being careful of his footwork so that the rest of the group could easily follow after him. He cleared the path with his free arm, brushing aside loose branches and kicking away the stray rocks and vines. Occasionally, he looked behind to make sure everyone was keeping up; but more than once, he lost his temper because they were moving so slow- only because they didn't want to fall.

Minutes passed and the five friends worked out a steady system to work together. When there were surfaced tree roots, Zuko warned the group to take slower, higher steps, keeping an eye on every one of them. When they were going down a steeper route, he warned them of the change, telling them to lean back for support. Just as Sokka had requested, Zuko (awkwardly) described their scenery to ensure the group that he was doing his job right, and also to reassure them that he was still there. His voice and touch was the only reliable source of comfort.

So far, everything had been manageable. Zuko safely guided the crew through every obstacle Toph led them through. He could tell that they were becoming comfortable with his lead because of the fact that they were progressing faster. They no longer moved with hesitation and every step was made confidently, obediently following Zuko's directions, rest assured that there were no unspoken surprises. The four blindfolded friends almost felt like their role was easier. After all, Zuko was the one doing all the work to provide a safe path.

Finally, they came across an opening. The sound of rushing waters filled the air.

"That sounds like a river," Aang observed.

"Correct," the earthbender replied before quickly making a rock bridge for her to cross the wide river. She ran to the other side effortlessly and destroyed the bridge. "I think we can all have a break after you guys make it across." Her blind eyes stared them down.

The river's current were too rapid to wade through. Just to be on the safe side, Zuko tested the water's depth with a nearby stick. It was about the length of his arm, and he still couldn't feel the bottom.

Following Toph's example, Zuko released his grip on Sokka's wrist and moved behind the Avatar. "Aang, create a rock bridge straight ahead!"

Aang followed his order, but after a second of constructing the bridge, Toph crumbled the structure with her own earthbending.

Zuko ran in front of the group. "Hey!"

"You didn't think this part of the training was going to be _easy_ , did you?" she grinned, keeping a solid stance close to the ground.

"What? What happened?" Sokka cried out.

"It's going to be a lot harder than I thought. She just destroyed Aang's bridge," Zuko explained, shielding his arm out protectively. Fortunately he was a quick thinker. He moved behind Katara, nudging her respectively until she was facing the river. "Can you feel the tug of the water in front of you? We're going to need an ice bridge."

"I got this," the waterbender replied confidently, already raising her hands in the air. The running waters froze halfway across before another one of Toph's giant boulders came crashing down on it like a meteor. Zuko immediately threw Katara behind him, striking out a hand to firebend when he suddenly remember that he wasn't allowed to. Thankfully, Aang had made an earth wall to shield them from the impact. A crackling sound rang out as the ice broke and shards of it drifted down the river. Aang lowered the wall back into the earth. It was then that Zuko was grateful Aang had trained with the earthbender, because the boy had the most experience being blindfolded and feeling for the vibrations.

"How are we going to get across now, Zuko?" Suki asked.

Before anyone could reply, Toph's voice pierced through. "Time to introduce my friends!" She struck both hands out and Zuko noticed a number of rock sculptures in the shape of fire nation soldiers erupting from the ground.

"Friends?!" Sokka shrieked, unsheathing his space sword. "What friends?! Zuko! What is she talking about?!"

He wasn't quite sure how to answer. By this time, everyone had let go of each other and faltered back from the shock of the explosion. They were separated and Zuko had to tend to every individual. "Uhh, they're rock sculptures that look like fire nation soldiers. Everyone, just get ready to attack!"

They all repositioned themselves in an offensive stance, unsure of which way to be facing. Meanwhile, Zuko took in his surroundings, trying to figure out the best way make it across the river while keeping everyone safe. He noticed how the rock soldiers were closing in on them. Crossing the river could wait a few minutes. First he had to protect the group.

Zuko's eyes reached Sokka who was conveniently facing an incoming enemy. "Sokka! In front of you! Strike with everything you've got now!" he shouted, running towards him as backup.

Sokka obeyed without a second thought, feeling the impact of the sword as it sliced through the rock. "I got it?!" he cheered.

"Yes, nice work! Now fall back!" Zuko redirected his course, making his way toward Suki. She jumped slightly when he placed both hands reassuringly on her shoulders. Standing in back of her, he raised her right arm to eye level, keeping his own eye on the incoming rock soldier in front of them.

"Four paces. Aim this high," he directed before kicking down another rock soldier to her left. He whipped his head back to see Suki already kicking the solider toward the top of its chest and knocking it down. Zuko led her to Sokka, arranging them back to back. "When I say… cactus juice, strike in the same way I instructed."

Without a second delay, he charged toward Katara and Aang who had already positioned themselves back to back in an octopus form. The river water surrounded them, constructing of protective whip-like limbs loosely waving around, ready to strike.

"Zuko! What do we do?" Aang shouted.

Zuko glanced back. "Cactus juice!"

"What?"

Suki and Sokka struck out the nearby rock soldiers. They quickly regrouped.

"I think I'm starting to get the hang of feeling the direction of the vibrations," Suki said proudly.

"Really? All I can feel is the ground shaking everywhere," Sokka claimed.

With two less enemies, Zuko refocused his attention back on the river. His golden eyes fell on Toph who appeared to be having too much fun with the way she cackled. They could never cross the river with all the soldiers she kept creating. He kicked down another enemy closing in on the Avatar.

"Can you airbend yourself across the river and blow a huge gust of wind at her? I'll tell you when she's distracted and you can recreate that bridge for us to come across."

The Avatar nodded. The octopus form resided and he create a powerful, compressed ball of air by moving his hands in a circular motion.

"Are you forgetting that I can hear all your plans, Sparky?" Toph announced loudly.

Zuko placed a hand on Katara's shoulder- the same shoulder he used for support when he staggered at the simulation of being bloodbended. He gave a tight squeeze, and she understood.

"I'll tell you when you're on the other side," he said to Aang and the boy took off riding on his air scooter. It was only a couple seconds later that he shouted to Aang that he had made it across.

"Cactus juice!" The respected pair followed through with the order.

Aang landed softly on the ground. "More to your left, Aang!" Zuko yelled. However, Toph had also started roaming the area to make herself a more difficult moving target.

Before he could yell out any more instructions, a small army of rock soldiers trapped him and Katara against the river. Three in total. Zuko wasn't sure how many more kicks he would be able to execute before he was sore; but he trusted Katara's strength. He trusted everyone's strength. In the next instant, he firmly gripped Katara's arm, making a sweeping motion from left to right and pausing in the slightest whenever her arm pointed toward a rock soldier to show their position.

"Rock soldiers. 1, 2, 3," he directed and she immediately lunged at them with her ferocious waterbending skills. When it was clear, he grabbed her wrist and ran toward Sokka and Suki.

"Now Aang! Shield yourself with the earth!" Zuko ordered. Aang wrinkled his nose in confusion, but he complied anyways, creating a coat of graveled armor from the earth beneath him. He stood his ground, listening for Zuko's directions from behind him. "When I say 'Avatar' then uh… use your earthbending to throw rocks in that direction!"

As the firebender was giving orders to Aang, he repositioned Katara so that she was facing the river. The waterbender froze a block of ice. Zuko stepped in between Suki and Sokka, wrapping an arm around them and nudging them to crouch on the block of ice.

"When I say 'jump', jump!" he exclaimed as Katara created a huge wave to push the block of ice to the other side of the river. The couple held hands and screamed; and when Zuko told them to jump, they did exactly that. Both landed with a summersault to lessen the impact of their fall.

Zuko grinned at his success. All that remained was for him and Katara to make it across.

"Let's go?" she said energetically. Zuko blinked at her posture, intrigued for a split second by the way her entire body curved toward him. It was as if she could see right through her blindfold, even if it was just a coincidence. But that one second was enough for Toph to recover, having realized that she was duped of Zuko's verbal directions.

As Katara was in the process of creating another block of ice for their turn, a boulder flew at them from their right. "Wait," he mumbled. He ran off, easily taking it out but then heard another rumble coming from the opposite direction.

A rock soldier was headed straight for Katara. And she had already stepped onto the ice platform.

"Zuko?" She felt around for his presence.

He raced toward them with his remaining energy.

"Katara! Just go!"

She hesitated, because even though she trusted Zuko, she didn't want to leave him behind. She started to bend the water currents around her, but that moment's hesitation cost them everything.

Zuko unleashed an enraged roar, running in between her and enemy and gave the rock soldier a solid kick to the chest. His own chest heaved as he gasped for air, and his body hurt from exerting all his energy. He allowed himself to collapse onto the ground in exhaustion; the rock soldier crumbled around him.

Hearing his pained cries, Katara impulsively lifted her blindfold to see him sprawled out in front of her. "What did you do?!" She stepped off the ice platform, running to his aid.

Everything went still until all that could be heard was the sound of rushing water again.

"He saved your butt- that's what he did," Toph called out rather amused. Everyone else removed their blindfolds upon hearing the statement. Their eyes adjusted to their surroundings and caught sight of Katara leaning over a fallen Zuko. Her water-gloved hands glowed a light luminescent blue as they traced over his upper body.

"Where does it hurt?" she demanded.

Zuko wanted to reassure her that he was fine, but he knew she wouldn't accept such an answer.

"My legs are just a bit sore," he admitted in a soft voice. Despite where he said he was hurting, she kept both hands fixed on his upper body. Her healing hands gently rocked over his chest. Zuko tilted his head to catch a better view of her and noticed how her eyes appeared distant again- like she was reliving another memory. Maybe she was even briefly reminded of Jet's death who was involved in a similar incident. He remembered watching that scene during the play. Finally, she met his gaze, but directly looked away again.

Their friends were crossing the river to reach them, repeatedly calling out their names. But all Zuko could hear was Katara's soft voice in their final moments alone together.

"Please don't do that again."

He kept silent.

Because he didn't know if he would be able to keep that promise.


	7. From The Public's Perspective

And here we have another off-screen scenario that takes place after Sozin's comet but before the final scene at the Jasmine Dragon. That has yet to come! Thanks for all the support!

~Roze

* * *

: Seven :

From The Public's Perspective

* * *

"…but he did it anyways. He jumped in front of the lightning for me," Katara said in reminiscence.

Actress Katara gasped dramatically, slapping both hands to her plump cheeks. "He did?! Why didn't you move out of the way?"

" _You_ try avoiding Azula's crazy lightning at the last second!"

"Okay," actress Katara nodded and frantically scribbled down some notes on her sheet of paper. "So I should act really shocked, right? Like this?" She made an overly shocked face, her mouth gaping like a fish out of water.

"Umm, maybe not _that_ shocked…"

"And then what happened?"

"Airship slice!" Sokka exclaimed from another part of the backstage room. He ferociously sliced through the air with his hand.

His own actor burst into laughter. "I am definitely using that phrase! How do you come up with this stuff?"

"It's a talent. So then! Suki, Toph and I circled our airship around and crashed into the fleet of airships. That's when things really started to go down," he ended in a dark ominous voice to build suspense.

In another nearby area, Toph stood leaning against the wall, talking with her impeccable actor. "You. Rock." She and her male actor fist pumped. "Now, I know we're supposed to be giving advice to our own actor so that the ending of the play can be more accurate; but if you really want it to be the show of a lifetime, you'll let _me_ speak with the playwright."

"Of course," the actor replied in his deep, protruding voice. "Hey, there he is now."

Sure enough, playwright Pu-on Tim shuffled on backstage. He saw the two Tophs waving to him and curiously headed over to them.

The earthbender cut to the chase. "Okay look. I know _all_ the juicy details here. So let me tell you what you need to know…"

"There is no avatar state yip yip," Aang tried to explain to his actor from another corner of the room. "And can you least try to make my voice sound like a guy?"

"Twinkletoes sounds perfect the way he is. Don't change a thing about his actress," Toph confidently claimed.

"Twinkletoes?" Pu-on Tim questioned in his old voice.

"Oh yeah!" Toph said lifting her eyebrows, "Let me fill you in on all the group secrets and nicknames."

"Because once Ozai is defeated, you need to come up with a good loser nickname for him." The Kyoshi Warrior fretted, hoping that her actress was noting down her advice. "King of the Guys-Who-Don't-Win doesn't really sound impressive…"

Her actor stared at her blankly. "Wow."

"Yeah. If you want good names, go to Sokka. He always comes up with the best names," Suki said dreamily.

"Like Sparky Sparky Boom Man!" Sokka wiggled his fingers in excitement. "But then that didn't really sound good, so I came up with Combustion Man instead!"

His actor snorted and jotted down more notes with a smile. "Awesome! You got any more jokes?"

"Oh yeah. Tons of them. Listen to this one…"

"Honor."

The newly crowned Fire Lord Zuko stared at his actor in front of him, cringing at the sound of the mantra that spilled from his lips. "I never want to hear you to say that word again."

"Whaaat?" the actor said in dismay. His eyes drooped as he turned to Zuko. "But that's my favourite line."

"You say it every other sentence!"

"That's the whole reason why I auditioned for the part."

Zuko's fingers began curling in disgust. He was about to rebuke the guy's motives for auditioning when the actor added, "Besides, you're pretty cool."

Hearing this, the Fire Lord couldn't stop the smile from crawling upon his face. He shyly looked to the side and ran a hand through his loose hair. "That's… good."

Actor Zuko mirrored the action, running a hand through his wig. "Yeah, except now I need a new mask because nobody ever knows which side your scar is on. So in your opinion, what do you think about the play?"

Toph kept a count on her fingers as she listed off her comments. "You're nailing my part. You're nailing Aang's part. Zuko and Katara have a secret thing for each other, which you've also nailed. Sokka drools in his sleep. Suki sneaks off to Sokka's tent at night…"

"What is Toph going on about?" Katara snapped upon hearing her name being spoken. She could've sworn she heard the earthbender spewing out lies about her and Zuko.

"Hey! T-that was one time!" Suki retaliated.

Ignoring her friends' retorts, Toph continued to reveal her observations emphatically, catching the attention of everyone in the room. "And make sure you do the lightning scene justice. I wanna see some slow motion with Zuko as he runs in front of the lightning!"

"Oh, that reminds me. What did you scream when you jumped in front of the lightning?" Zuko's actor inquired, his brush in hand ready to take notes.

The Fire Lord had to think for a moment before he plainly answered, "I'm pretty sure I just said 'no'."

But the actor wanted more detail than that. "Was it like- No!" he abruptly cried out. "Or like- NoOoOOoOOoo!'" his voice cracked like he was yodeling as he desperately reached a hand out in front of him. "Or like- NOOOOOO!" he shouted at the top of his lungs and lunged to the side, pretending to be injured as he crashed to the ground. Everyone backstage stopped what they were doing to look at what the commotion was all about.

Unamused, Zuko reluctantly gave a short candid response. "…the last one."

"He's lying!" Toph immediately declared, cupping her mouth with both hands. "What he really said was, 'KATARA! I LO-'"

"Everyone can hear you, Toph!" Zuko yelled as his face scrunched up in humiliation.

"Good!"

At this, Katara's actress let out another gasp and struck a hand lovingly across her heart. "So romantic! You must have felt your heart break at the sight of his sacrifice of true love!"

The waterbender hurriedly waved her hands out in front of her. "No! It wasn't like that at all!" With a sigh, she once again tried to explain the turn of events, which proved to be incredibly difficult because of all the interruptions. "Anyways, after that, I was able to heal him and-"

"Did you cry?"

"What? N-," Katara hesitated because she suddenly recalled the tears that escaped her eyes after she had healed Zuko. "Okay, maybe a little." She panicked when she saw her actress's eyes light up. The actress wrote on her sheet of paper in big characters: CRY!

Katara wished she had never admitted that. "I said a little! Don't break down crying on stage!"

"She totally sobbed like a baby," Toph proclaimed smoothly.

"I thought the whole point of this was to make the play better, not worse," Aang stated in irritation.

"Oh don't worry. It'll be so much better." –but maybe only to Toph's standards.

Suddenly, Sokka rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hey, since you guys are changing the ending, do you know what that means?" he proposed to the entire group.

"What?" his actor eagerly asked.

"Sometime during the play, you'll have to _go to the play_! Because that's what we did!"

"Whoa. So you would be watching us… while we watch ourselves. That's crazy."

There was a moment of silence as they all let the thought sink in.

…

A second later, the two goofballs shared a rambunctious laugh while the rest of the crew remained flustered.

At least some people were getting along.

The following day, the Gaang strolled alongside each other, returning to the theatre so they could check out the rehearsal with the new additions. Why they were dedicating time to contribute advice to the local Ember Island Players, no one really knew- or rather, no one wanted to admit. The friends did care about how they were being portrayed to the public. Unfortunately, from yesterday's session, it appeared that their help would prove to be useless.

Aang was the first one to finally speak out as they entered the room backstage. "I dunno you guys. Do you really think our advice helped to improve the play?"

The dramatic sound of wailing reached their ears before they could even catch a glimpse of anything. "Oooohh! Zukoooo!"

Katara and Zuko were out the door before anyone else, respectively stating their opinions as they left.

"No I don't think it helped at all."

"Nope."


	8. In The Presence Of A Baby

We're still in the Fire Nation. Haven't gone to Ba Sing Se yet to drink tea in the sunset. This story will follow the timeline through to the end of The Last Airbender series, and then steer into the depths of my imagination (oh dear). Thanks for all the love you guys!

~Roze

* * *

: Eight :

In The Presence Of A Baby

* * *

"Fire Lord Zuko! Have you seen Tom-Tom? Can you please help us find him?" Of course it was always the mother who was concerned about where her children wandered off to.

Zuko patrolled the royal hallways of his palace, his eye twitching at the fact that he was on the lookout for the mischievous two year old. What did his people think he was? A babysitter? Just because he had to babysit the nation didn't mean he had to babysit children.

The Fire Lord's eyes swept from side to side. It had been unusually quiet the entire day. The hallways were nearly empty with nothing but red velvet covering the floor and walls. Zuko wasn't going to lie; there were tons of other matters he should have been attending to rather than keeping an eye out for his girlfriend's baby brother. If only he had avoided running into Mai's parents after the council meeting, then maybe he could've escaped the request.

As he was about to deviate from the situation, he heard a distinct, familiar female voice. It was faint and muffled, but in the still of the immense palace hallway, it was the only sound that could be heard. She was singing, and the different timbre of her singing voice made Zuko unsure of who it was.

"-vers forbidden from one another. A war divides their people."

Zuko tread closer to the source of the voice. Then he heard light clapping. It was coming from one of the chambers. His footsteps picked up when the singing grew in volume.

"And a mountain divides them apart."

The door was slightly ajar, and he peeked inside to see his waterbender friend sitting on the floor with a smiling Tom-Tom on her lap. She held Tom-Tom's tiny hands and clapped them to the beat of the song. "Built a path to be together-"

"Katara?"

She yelped, moving back from her spot on the embroidered rug with eyes wide open. "Zuko! Don't do that!"

"What are you doing in here…? And with Tom-Tom?" He entered the room, noticing how Katara shrunk back, her eyes diverting his apprehensively.

"Well, this little cutie here has a bad habit of wandering into places he's not supposed to be in," she explained. "I found him chasing after Momo on the balcony. And… I couldn't find his parents, so now I'm watching over him." She sputtered the last few words spastically, making her sound guilty of her own reasons.

"You could've given him to Mai or one of the guards," Zuko casually suggested, as if the solution was so obvious.

Katara stared at him warily from the corner of her eyes. Her lips tightened like she was pondering her next appropriate reply. "I suppose so," she murmured nonchalantly.

The two year old eagerly grabbed Katara's hands in attempt to clap them together, clearly disappointed that their play time was interrupted.

"Well, his parents are searching for him, and they asked me to keep an eye out for him too. So I can take him off your shoulders now," Zuko offered.

Her face fell, but from her stiff posture, he could tell she was trying to appear unfazed. "Oh, okay."

That was not the kind of response he was expecting from her. She should have been delighted that she didn't have to worry about the burden of being held responsible for the child. But then he remembered that this was _Katara_ sitting in front of him. Maybe she _wanted_ to watch over Tom-Tom. Regretting his proposition, he awkwardly added, "Um, unless you want to keep playing with him?"

"No. His parents must be worried. You can take him back." She turned her attention to the child on her lap who opened his mouth widely, letting out a silent yawn. "Tom-Tom, time to go back to your parents." She gently lifted the toddler up to Zuko who winced- his face scrunched in repulsion.

Zuko rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Actually, can you hold him? I can lead us there."

His reaction knocked out a satisfied smile from Katara as she kept Tom-Tom in mid-air awaiting Zuko's arms. "Why? You're not afraid of holding a _baby_ , are you?"

"No! I just… don't want to drop him!" It was a lame excuse- Zuko was aware of that. But at least he was being honest. "He squirms around too much."

"Not if you hold him like this. Here-"

"Uh- that's okay," he revolted, holding his hands out in front of him. Katara had never seen him so flustered before, and quite frankly, she found it to be amusing. But she wasn't going to let him escape the situation. Retaining a calm figure, she rose to her feet, repositioning the toddler to a more comfortable hold.

"Zuko, if Aang and Sokka can handle holding him, you can too. It'll be good practice," she gently reasoned.

"Good practice for what?"

"For when you have your own children."

Before he knew it, she shoved Tom-Tom onto him, leaving him no choice but to awkwardly wrap his arms around the child. "I don't like this," he said as the child immediately started to squirm.

"You're doing great. Just keep a tighter hold on him."

Zuko tried to comply, but Tom-Tom was making it incredibly difficult with his curiosity of the new person holding him. His small arms were flailing uncontrollably. Already, Zuko was panicking.

"Can't he walk?"

Katara placed her hands on her hips and gave him a knowing grin. "Trust me, it'll be a lot faster if you carry him."

"Ugh, hey!" Zuko kept grunting while the young toddler grabbed his face with a huge smile and continuous babbles. It wasn't long before Tom-Tom made the inevitable mistake of touching Zuko's scar, and the Fire Lord jerked him an arm length's away. "Stop it! No!"

His stern voice frightened the young toddler who immediately started crying loudly. Now Zuko felt bad. The last thing he needed was a crying baby.

"Zuko!" Katara scolded.

"What?"

Deciding that reprimanding the Fire Lord could wait, she rubbed a finger lovingly against Tom-Tom's chubby cheeks in attempt to settle his cries. "Come on Tom-Tom. I know you're just sleepy," she said pursing her lips. The young toddler opened his eyes which had instinctively settled upon Katara's warm face. He stared at her with tear-stained eyes, his mouth shaped in an "o".

Zuko kept his attention on the affectionate scene unraveling in front of him, surprised that Katara had been able to calm the child so easily. Suddenly, she pressed a finger to Tom-Tom's nose. "Boop!" she peeped as she did so. Tom-Tom's lips curved upward, and he reached out for Katara. The Fire Lord tried handing the baby back, seeing as the kid looked like he would start crying again if he stayed any longer in Zuko's arms; but Katara refused, standing back proudly.

"There. You just have to press his smile button."

"Smile... button?"

"Yes," Katara said smugly. "See, you wouldn't know because yours is obviously broken."

Zuko's nose wrinkled as he had clearly taken offense to that statement. "You're making that up!"

"Tom-Tom, let's see if Zuko's smile button is broken!" She took one of the baby's outreached hands and gingerly folded the tiny fingers, allowing his pointer finger to innocently press against Zuko's nose. Tom-Tom giggled while Zuko stared at the kid, completely perplexed by the gesture.

"See? Broken," Katara confirmed.

"That only works for little kids!" Zuko tightened his grip on the baby, bringing him closer to his chest.

"Whatever makes you feel better." Her face relaxed again as she took a step past the two boys; But her gaze lingered on the child for a second longer, with a sense of longing in her eyes. Or maybe it was a look of admiration. "You should take him back to his parents, and I need to get back to Sokka."

She headed for the door of the room. Zuko was about to follow when he felt the baby's head snuggle into the crook of his neck. Tom-Tom's arms settled to the side and his half-lidded eyes fluttered to sleep. Seeing this, Zuko freaked out- gritting his teeth while his eyes flung open in agitation at the sleeping child in his arms. He didn't know which was more uncomfortable: a crying baby or a sleeping baby. "Wait! Katara!"

"I found them!" came an all-too familiar voice. There, at the foot of the open door, stood Sokka pointing an accusing finger at the trio. A second later, Toph strolled in wearing her signature grin.

Katara nearly sprung at her two friends. "Sokka! Toph! What are you doing?"

"Looking for you two," Sokka answered and glanced at Katara. "You never came back from the council meeting." He quickly turned to Zuko. "And Tom-Tom's parents were wondering if you found their son." He placed his hands on his hips, staring at the three of them suspiciously. "Looks like you all found each other instead."

"And look at you Sparky. Is that a baby you're holding?" Toph shrewdly added.

"Blame Katara," Zuko grumbled.

"Ohhh so now we're playing hous-"

"Anyways! I just passed Tom-Tom's parents a couple minutes ago," Sokka interrupted, much to Zuko's delight. "They should still be down the hallway now."

"Thanks Sokka." Katara turned to face Zuko, raising her eyebrows. "Do you think you can handle holding the baby for two minutes, Fire Lord Zuko?"

The Fire Lord hesitated before answering. If she was going to subdue him in front of their friends, then it was only fair that he did the same to her. He couldn't have her triumph all of their little disputes. And he definitely wasn't going to let her have the final say this time.

"I can. But maybe _you'd_ like to spend some more time with him?" His eyebrows lifted in a provocative manner. Something about the way he spoke reminded him of a similar, past situation with her: most likely when they were still enemies. Yes, he had tried bargaining with her before. Zuko pushed the memory aside before it could become fully integrated. He saw the changed expression on her face, like she was greatly considering his words. She opened her mouth to speak, but then shut it, probably not wanting to admit defeat too quickly.

Finally, Katara gave in with outreached arms and an eager smile. "I'll take him."

He carefully passed the child to her. Her face brightened as she gently rocked Tom-Tom and then left the room with Toph following alongside her.

When the two girls were out of earshot, Zuko released a sigh of relief. The confident image was wiped from his face, replaced by his usual serious demeanor again. He met Sokka's gaze. "How much did you see?"

"Good practice for when you have your own children, Zuko~" Sokka mimicked in a girly voice while clasping his hands together.

Zuko groaned, raising a hand to his forehead. "The worst time to overhear us."

"You're just lucky it was me who found you guys first and not Toph or anyone else in the palace." Sokka's voice returned to normal, but he sounded cautious- a little too cautious.

The two older teenagers made their way to the door. But just before they departed from the safety of the confined room, Sokka paused in his step, glaring at Zuko once more. "Still no feelings?"

Zuko stared back matching the intensity, his fiery eyes never wavered from their line of sight. "Still no feelings."

They left the room.


	9. An Overprotected Brother

Human interactions are a precious thing :')

~Your Uncle Iroh

* * *

: Nine :

An Overprotective Brother

* * *

"I saw. My sister. And Aang. Outside. _Kissing_."

Zuko didn't know how he should have reacted to the statement. But for Sokka's sake, he awkwardly tried to appear concerned. "O-oh, they like each other?"

"That's what I'm saying!" Sokka screeched. "It just came out of nowhere! Did I miss out on all the hints? Were there even any?"

He tried to think back- to remember all the times they, as a group, had spent together during the past year. He knew Katara and Aang were close but for them to have romantic feelings for each other? He never saw the signs! Or had he simply overlooked them?

And then, a sudden realization hit him like a ton of bricks: back when they visited the fortuneteller, Aang had randomly come to him for lady advice. At the time, he had thought the young boy was talking about the fortuneteller's assistant. But maybe Aang was talking about Katara instead! Suddenly Aang's replies during their conversation started to make a lot more sense.

But the memories didn't stop there. Everything started connecting together as fast as lightning. One memory led to another memory, and another, and another. When the three of them exited the Cave of Two Lovers, Aang had mentioned forthright that he and Katara had let love lead the way… what had he been implying then?! What did Aang and Katara do exactly?! Then when he and Aang were about to embark on their little men-only man trip back in Ba Sing Se… he faintly remembered seeing a blushing Aang stuttering something out to Katara; but he had been too caught up in the moment to let Aang finish the thought as he lunged at the boy in excitement. Maybe Aang had been trying to confess back then!

The ball was really rolling now: The dance party in the fire nation. Aang blushing after making Katara the replacement flower necklace. All the hugs Katara gave him. She had kissed him on the cheek once too, hadn't she? Maybe more than once?! Hugs! Kisses! Aang! Touching! His baby sister! SPIRITS ABOVE! HOW HAD HE MISSED ALL OF THAT?!

Sokka unleashed a hysterical scream, smearing his hands down his face. "You didn't know either, did you?!"

Zuko took a step back. "Well, I wasn't really paying attention to that…"

"They were pretty obvious, Sokka!" Toph proclaimed, making her way toward them.

"They were?!" he shouted whipping his head to the earthbender.

Suki nodded, joining in the conversation.

"Wha-… Why didn't any of you tell me?" Sokka didn't give anyone time to answer before he continued on. "This whole time I've been keeping an eye out for Zuko, when I should've been watching out for Aang!" He turned to Toph. "Toph, this is your fault!"

"Why? Just because I kept teasing Zuko?" she crossed her arms, lifting a corner of her lips.

"Yes! You gave me the wrong guy! Why would you tease Zuko when you knew that Katara and Aang liked each other?!"

"Zuko's funny when he's angry."

"What?!" Zuko fumed clenching his fists.

Toph gestured a hand out in his direction. "See?"

Suki finally stepped in. "Sokka, don't you think you're overreacting? Katara's free to do whatever she wants. And this is Aang we're talking about- you've known him forever."

Sokka pondered the thought. For him, the situation was similar to meeting Appa for the first time and unfortunately only ever seeing him walk around, then days later being completely shocked when it turned out the bison was actually capable of flying. Playful teasing and assumptions were one thing. Evident affirmations were another. "Okay but still, I wasn't prepared-"

"You mean you haven't heard of the theory of trios?" Toph remarked.

The three friends looked her way, their faces scrawled with confusion.

"Whenever there's a trio, more often than not, two of the three members end up getting together." She raised a finger for every name she spoke. "You, Katara and Aang: the original trio, right? Look at that. You guys fit right into it."

There was an awkward silence as they all let the thought sink in.

"See! It is your fault then! You didn't tell me about any of this!" He stared blankly ahead as another thought came into mind. "What else have they been doing that I don't know about?"

"Sokka…" Suki started in concern.

"This calls for Operation: Inclusion! Also known as 'prevent Katara and Aang from getting into suggestive situations'." He slammed a fist into the palm of his hand.

The three friends gave up trying to tiptoe their way out of the Jasmine Dragon when Sokka shot them a lethal glare, and then single-handedly dragged all three of them to find his sister.

Conveniently enough, Katara was walking nearby in the streets of Ba Sing Se carrying a basketful of newly purchased bags of flour.

Sokka spotted her from a distance. He immediately trekked toward her pulling along Zuko, Suki and Toph. It was nothing less of subtle.

"Hey dear sister!" he greeted, wrapping a brotherly arm around her shoulder. Katara merely recoiled, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Hi? What are you doing?" She tried to brush his arm away from her.

"Keeping you company."

She looked back to see Zuko, Suki and Toph trailing behind with forced smiles and waves.

"A lot of company," Sokka added when she gave him a weird look. "You shouldn't be walking out here alone, especially when it's getting dark out."

"Right," Katara said unimpressed.

"What's with all the flour?"

"Iroh said he needed some for a recipe he wanted to try out. He had to watch over the shop, so I offered to pick it up for him."

"I hope the recipe isn't unfried dough."

They were about to turn the corner of a building when Sokka burst into a full out shriek.

"KATARA! STOP!" He stepped in front of her, blocking her route with arms wide open. He continued before she had a chance to speak. "You have to be more careful going around corners! What if you ran into someone?"

"Like who?" Katara angrily placed her free hand on her hip.

"Hey Sokka; I thought I heard you," came a young, cheery voice. "Mai said she saw you guys heading this way, and it was getting dark out, so I thought I'd see what was taking you guys so long." Coincidentally, it was Aang and Momo who emerged from behind the corner.

"Like Aang," Sokka said holding his hands toward the boy. "See? Then you two would've fallen on top of each other!"

Katara scoffed. "That's ridiculous." As she was about to take another step, Sokka stopped her again with another outburst.

"WAIT!"

"Sokka!" Katara retorted, whipping her hair around ferociously. He lowered himself to, once again, gesture a hand at the situation.

"You almost tripped on Momo's tail!" he squealed dramatically. "Then you would've fallen on top of Aang and landed in a very. Suggestive. Position."

Silence.

"Is there something you're not telling me?"

"I could say the same to you," Toph shamelessly announced to which Sokka struck her a glare, failing in any attempt to shush her.

"No, nothing at all," Sokka mended. "Just keep going about your day."

The next afternoon, the streets of Ba Sing Se were nearly vacant when Sokka chased after a lively Momo. All Sokka wanted was to paint a portrait of Toph and Momo for one of his parting gifts. But that idea became difficult when the lemur escaped from his grasp and fled to the expansive city.

"Momo! Come back here!" The teenager was led back to the intersection where he had found Katara yesterday. He stopped dead in his tracks when his eyes focused on the scene in front of him. Corner. Katara. On top of Zuko. With Mai standing nearby. Emotionless as ever. With her arms crossed.

"What is this?!" he cried out.

Katara shifted from her position on the ground, pushing Zuko's chest away from her. "Okay, Sokka, you're not going to believe this, but Zuko ran into me when I turned the corner and-"

"We both ran into each other!" Zuko insisted, untangling himself from the waterbender. "After you tripped over the lemur's tail!"

"As stupid as it sounds, it's true," Mai added without the slightest quiver in her voice.

Sokka stood flabbergasted. His jaw hung low while his eyes bugged out. The phrases repeated in his mind, following his intake of the scene. Corner. Zuko. Katara. Tripped. Very. Suggestive. Position! That was exactly the kind of situation he was trying to prevent with Aang the day before!

Sokka unleashed an exasperated growl and threw both hands over his head in fury. If Zuko hadn't been so concentrated in recovering from the unfortunate accident, he would have been proud of Sokka's anger: It would have been on equal levels with the hot-headed Fire Lord's.

Speechless, Sokka stormed off in the opposite direction running into Toph along the way. "I don't know who I should be more worried about anymore! Zuko or Aang? Aang or Zuko?"

Toph cracked her knuckles and stretched them over her head. "Think of it this way: For now, Aang will just want to kiss. Zuko will want to-"

"Okay stop! I have to rethink this." He left the scene with heavy footsteps.

The earthbender kept a blank face as she perceived the scene playing out before her. Katara rose to her feet, brushing the dust from her outfit while Zuko rested a hand on his head, still settled on the ground. The waterbender offered him a hand, but the Fire Lord raised a hand out, gently shaking his head. He picked himself up, and Mai latched onto his arm while Katara went along her way as usual. It was like their little accident had never happened.

Toph sharply blew her long bangs out of her face, which only fell back to their original position. She mumbled her previously interrupted sentence to no one in particular. "I was going to say: Zuko will want to be friends…"

* * *

A little note to leave you off with this time!  
Each individual perceives him/herself to be the main character in his/her life story. The nice thing about A:TLA is that there's a blurred dividing line between good and evil. Escape the confines of a single character's point of view, put aside your own feelings for a given subject, and the foundation of an idea becomes clearer. Understanding is different from liking and approving. All right, don't get too scared off :) So why does Sokka care so much? The reasons will sneak its way in! Thanks for reading!

~Roze


	10. Some Generically Wise Statements

And I disappeared for a couple months there. But I'm back! If you've ever played the Haunted House mod quest for Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, you'll recognize the quote for Sokka's fortune.

~Roze

* * *

: Ten :

Some Generically Wise Statements

* * *

"How would you all like to be the first ones to try out my fortune cookies?" Iroh happily offered the next day at the Jasmine Dragon.

"Fortune?!" Katara immediately leapt at the offer, literally jumping out of her seat and causing her chair to clutter loudly to the floor.

"Shhh!" Sokka rapidly pressed a finger in front of his pursed lips, the spit practically flying out everywhere from his violent shushing. "Don't _ever_ say the 'F' word in front of her!"

Too late.

"I would love a fortune cookie!" The waterbender laced her fingers together, her eyes gleaming with devoted excitement.

"How do these fortune cookies work?" Aang asked walking over to the group.

Iroh revealed a golden cookie shaped like a crescent moon. "You break the cookie in half and inside, there will be a slip of paper that tells you what your fortune is."

"Let me guess. They're all generically wise statements written by you?" Sokka said, obviously unimpressed.

Iroh threw back his head, letting out a hearty chuckle at the comment. "Well, there is nothing wrong with receiving even my most generic advice. But for this occasion, I've personally written out some fortunes that I think you will all enjoy."

"This is perfect!" Toph exclaimed. "I've heard of this fun thing to do with fortunes when I was at Earth Rumble 6! Now's the perfect time to try it out!"

"Here Katara," Iroh handed her one of his fortune cookies. "Why don't you have the first one? Since you were so nice to pick up the flour to make them yesterday."

Katara opened her fortune, reading it aloud for everyone to hear. " _If you love something, set it free… if it returns, keep it and love it forever_ —"

"—in bed!" Toph immediately shrieked and burst into hysterical laughter. Her sudden outburst brought a bright shade of red to everyone's cheeks as their eyes widened.

"WHAT?!" Katara cried out, her flushed cheeks refusing to return to normal.

Only the sound of Toph's laughter filled the air. "Oh man! That was too perfect!"

"Waitwaitwait!" Sokka interfered waving his hands. "What is this 'in bed' thing?"

"It's a saying that you add to the end of your fortunes to make it more interesting— and more fun!"

"You're way too young for that!" Zuko retorted, glancing to over to Mai who kept silent.

Toph kept a sly smirk on her face. She leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms and legs. "Fine. Let's do another saying then."

"Oh!" Sokka raised a finger in the air. "How about— _But then everything changed when the fire nation attacked!_?" He held a huge open smile in the dead silence. His eyes wandered amongst the group of confused expressions, and then he shrugged, completely unaffected by the rejection. "No? Okay."

"How about we just stick to reading the fortunes as they were meant to be read?" Katara stressed.

"How _boring_!" The earthbender articulated. "But I guess we could do that." After all, she had already implanted the idea into their minds; she was sure that no matter how much they tried to refute the idea now, the suffix would subconsciously make its way in as an afterthought. She fought back the urge to laugh at her ingenious nature.

"Mine next!" Aang shouted and took the opportunity to open his fortune cookie. " _Hurt feelings do not always equal bad. Some things can only be learned through pain."_

Toph grinned and turned her head towards everyone who remained awkwardly silent. Mission accomplished.

Sokka nodded his head, intrigued. "Okay, not a bad fortune. Not bad at all."

"Read mine next!" Toph shouted. Iroh handed the cookie to Toph who crushed it, poured the crumbs into her mouth and handed the slip of paper to Katara standing next to her.

The waterbender straightened out the paper reading it diligently. "There's nothing written on here."

"You mean it's blank?"

"No, it literally says, ' _There's nothing written on here_ '."

"That's a great fortune. As clear as my eyesight."

Then it was Zuko's turn to read his fortune. " _You must look within yourself to save yourself from your other self. Only then will your true self reveal itself_."

He kept a straight face.

…

Only he would ever understand why it was so ironic that he had received that fortune.

"Thanks Uncle. I've… said the same thing to myself once…" he slowly replied in a monotonous voice.

"You have? Good!" Iroh sounded pleased with his precious, growing nephew.

"All right! My turn!" Sokka snatched the cookie in Iroh's hand, reading it aloud for everyone to hear. " _It heals wounds. It takes lives. It teaches wisdom and patience_." Confused, he rapidly flipped the paper in case there was something more. "What is this? A riddle?"

Iroh's eyes lit up. "Do you know the answer?"

The water tribe boy randomly pulled out his special hat, monocle and dragon water pipe, stepping away from the group to pace back and forth. "Give me a moment to figure it out," he answered with an unknown accent.

"Mai, it's your turn," Katara offered gently. In an attempt to appear part of the group, Mai broke the cookie apart, holding open the paper in front of her. " _Catch on fire with enthusiasm and people will come for miles to watch you burn_."

"Sheesh. Say that in an even more enthusiastic voice, will ya?" Toph snickered to herself.

Then, the sound of forced sobbing came out of nowhere. "I hope you all cherish those fortunes. I put so much love into each and every one of them!" Iroh cried out dramatically.

"We'll be sure to put them to great use," Aang reassured. "Won't we guys?" Everyone made a sign of agreement for Iroh's sake which seemed to appease him.

Tucking their fortunes safely away, the group of friends resumed their moment of relaxation and dispatched to do their own separate things. Detective Sokka continued pacing back and forth but paused in his step when Iroh approached him with a teapot in hand.

"So, have you been to the foggy swamp lately?"

Sokka eyed the older man, who sounded like he was aware of a lot more than he was letting on. But if the wise man was blessed with the information, then he must have been trustworthy. Thankfully, Iroh's previous question was more than enough of a hint for the teenager to solve the riddle.

Sokka released a knowing smile. "I haven't been there in a long _time_."

A pause.

And then…

Iroh erupted in a deep earthy laugh. "Good answer."


	11. (x) unknown error

~r0Z3

* * *

: Ƭ ∃ и ;

Skjome7348*ƓƎƝƎ—Rically34%W&ise(_02lstatǝɱĕ!03Ƨ

* * *

"You got it?"

"I can't believe you made me miss bonding over fortune cookies for this…but yeah I got it."

"Hey, I didn't know he was going to bring out the cookies!"

"Like that didn't happen last time—"

"It was a minor event… or so I thought. Anyways, thanks for picking this up for me."

"Did anyone notice I was gone?"

"No one said anything."

"Glad to know I was missed…"

"You're stealthy; that's why I asked you to grab the package. And you know I missed you."

"Aren't you sweet?... I believe you, you know? About this whole situation."

"I appreciate that. You have no idea how much I appreciate that. Oh yeah, there's another thing I found out."

"What is it?"

"Iroh knows."

"…well, he is a spiritual guy. I guess I'm not too surprised he knows about— mmph!... What?"

"Someone's listening."

"…who? We're alone here. I double checked."

"Not yet. But we'll be alone now—"

…

…

…


	12. How Much Of Me Is A Façade

So I don't know what happened to the last chapter (or do I?). So I guess Chapter Eleven is corrupt, but anyways! We're back on track! I actually had this chapter finished over a month ago but posting it was delayed because I've been on the search for a beta reader: one who is completely honest, open-minded, critical, and possesses a developed skill of writing, storytelling, character/plot development etc. The few beta readers I've contacted before have accepted my request, but I haven't heard from them since then (though I do understand busy lives). That being said, if anyone is available and interested to help beta my work, let me know! Thanks for reading!

~Roze

* * *

: Twelve :

How Much Of Me Is A Façade

* * *

"You know I don't like parties, Zuko. I can just stay in the palace," Mai insisted.

"The whole city will be there. And it's the last gathering before everyone goes their separate ways. Who knows how long it'll be until we all see each other again. We should enjoy this." Zuko grinned suggestively, pulling her in for a hug from behind. "You can stay beside me all night if that makes you feel better."

Mai shifted her eyes to the side. Disliking parties wasn't the only reason she didn't want to attend. While Zuko had properly befriended the Avatar and his friends, she had not; and although everyone was treating her respectively, there was a disconnection between her and the group. Mai could feel it in her bones. She had always felt left out, but this time she was with a group of friends who already had an infinitely strong bond. They had their inside jokes. They knew each other. She didn't belong—although it wasn't like she minded much.

As if Zuko could read her mind, he tightened his grip and nuzzled his nose against the crook her neck. "They like you. Don't worry."

"You don't have to tell me that." It was a typical response from Mai, not intended to be cold; But if she had responded straightforward with her honest feelings, those emotions would become all too real, overwhelming, and too cruel for herself. She didn't want others to pity her. She could handle it. It wasn't a big deal, and it wasn't like anyone really cared anyways.

Later that day, Zuko entered the room where the Gaang was preparing for the evening party. A smile adorned his face as his gaze swept across every one of his friends. Finally his eyes settled on Katara standing in front of a mirror and arranging her hair into a half-up top knot. He made his approach toward her. Immediately, the waterbender spotted him from within the mirror, turning to greet him before he could fully reach her.

"Hey!"

"Can I ask you something?" he started hesitantly.

"Sure, what is it?"

A beat.

"Can you talk with Mai and make her feel included tonight at the party?"

Katara stared back wordlessly as he continued on, "I know she likes to keep to herself, but I think she'd appreciate it if she was more involved with the rest of us. She'll never admit it, but I'm sure she feels left out because we've all bonded with each other already so… can you?"

"And why are you asking me specifically?" Katara raised an eyebrow.

He searched for the appropriate answer so it wouldn't be taken the wrong way, but the words escaped his mind. "Because—! Well—! You're a girl and—"

Katara let out playful chuckle. "No need to get so flustered; I was just curious. Of course I'll talk with her and get her involved." Then her face fell slightly. "But… will she let me is the problem."

"She will," Zuko quickly affirmed, a little too confidently. "I mean, you always get me to talk, so I'm sure you'll be able to get her to open up too. I'm her boyfriend, so it's not the same if I try to engage her with the group. Please, she's a good person underneath it all."

Katara released a heartwarming smile. "I believe you." Her eyes lingered a moment longer on his. "It was the same with you after all."

Zuko never looked happier. His whole entity appeared to light up in a way that was almost unnatural for his image. "Thank you!"

And just like that, the conversation subsided having accomplished its goal.

Hours later, the palace grounds were full of festivity. Lively music resonated throughout the night air, lanterns lit the decorated, spacious rooms, endless trays of food and drinks were readily available at every table, and friends were screaming their heads off from all the excitement.

"Please! Not another one of your horrible scary stories!" Toph shouted from atop a table.

"They're not that horrible!" Sokka argued. "Hey Zuko! Let's grab some of the drinks!"

"Not this again…" Zuko grumbled and was ripped away from a frowning Mai who now sat by herself on a bench away from all the activity. The two boys dashed to the drinks table, knocking so hard into Katara in the process that she nearly lost her balance.

"Hey! Watch it!" she warned and then turned the other way, catching sight of Mai by herself.

It wasn't long before a prestige looking man hustled his way over to the lonely girl. He leaned against the wall, trying to impress her with his stories and looks. Mai merely stared at him keeping her arms and legs firmly crossed, clearly disinterested but making no attempt to flee.

Seizing the opportunity, Katara happily skipped over to the Fire Nation girl, grabbing her wrist and pulling her from her seat. "Apologies sir, but Lady Mai promised that she'd dance with me when the next tune came on!" The two girls ran into the crowd and successfully made it to the other side of the room where the buffet tables lay.

"Ha! That's what he gets!" Katara exclaimed, releasing her grip on Mai and waterbending them each a drink from the large punch bowl.

Mai stared at her warily. "You didn't have to…" she said in her usual emotionless voice.

Having dealt with Zuko's cryptic emotions, Katara didn't allow herself to be devastated by Mai's similar expressions. That was Mai's way of saying thank you. Katara held out the cup full of whatever mysterious drink was in the bowl. "I know, but you didn't look like you were enjoying having him around."

To Katara's surprise, Mai accepted the drink, but their conversation quickly died after that. Fortunately, there was still loud background music playing as well as the sound of other people laughing and talking amongst them, saving the two from any real awkward silences, not that it bothered Mai much.

They each took a sip of their drinks.

Then another.

And another.

Katara tightened her grip on her cup.

"So, having fun yet?" she tried.

Mai gave her a glance that made Katara regret asking. "Not really." Despite her negative response, it was apparent that she was trying to sound more cheerful. "Did Zuko put you up to this?"

Katara couldn't help but flinch. "Put me up to what?" she asked innocently, bending herself another cup of the mysterious drink. As she was doing so, someone rammed into her yet again and she almost spilled her cup, although she was glad for the slight distraction.

"He asked you to talk to me, didn't he?"

"What? No~" she laughed nervously, waving her hand. Katara took another sip of her drink to buy her a second of time. She was a bad liar. She knew she was. Curse her good-natured, honest self. A second later, she dropped the act—her facial expression returned to normal with a hint of guilt. "Okay, yeah he did ask me to. But! I would have anyways even if he didn't ask. He just cares about you."

Mai sighed. She couldn't hold a grudge against the waterbender for that. Obligatory kindness or not, Katara had at least been honest in the end, and Mai could respect that much. "He should know better than to do something like that. What does he think that'll accomplish?" She was speaking more to herself than to Katara but faired that the waterbender could take it as conversation anyways.

"I think he just wants you to break out of your shell—open yourself up a little."

"Doesn't everyone." She took another sip of her drink. "Sorry to get your hopes up, but you won't be getting much out of me." She didn't need the waterbender's affection. Katara probably wasn't even interested in her. It was all just an obligation to make her feel better as a human being, not to mention it was a personal request from Zuko. Mai swore the girl was as enthusiastic as Ty Lee.

But that was when Katara's motherly instincts kicked in. Instead of losing her temper, she tilted her head to the side. "It must get lonely."

"It's whatever."

"There you ladies are." It was the man from before. This time, however, he probably wasn't going to leave without some sort of interaction.

The two girls drew back with a look of disgust.

"Oh, what bad timing," Katara set her drink down. "We were just about to get some fresh air."

"I see. I was hoping to spend some time with Lady Mai. Perhaps I could come along—"

"We'd really rather you didn't."

"What do you say, Lady Mai?"

Mai kept silent for numerous reasons, but mostly because she knew the man: not exactly on a personal level, but he was well acquainted with her parents on a political level. As a result, his presence was a constant reminder of her parents. She was sure he knew that as well, always taking advantage of that; so to disrespect him was to disrespect her parents. She thought ignoring him would be enough to put him off. Apparently not.

It was at that moment that the man drew close to her and tried to wrap an arm around her waist. "Don't touch me." She slapped his hand away. "Please," she quickly added.

"Lady Mai—" the man suavely tried again but was interrupted by Katara.

"She said no."

He stared long and hard at the master waterbender. "Why don't you let her answer for herself?"

Another one of Mai's famous sighs escaped her lips. This kind of thing happened to her at every party. At least it gave her a moment of less boredom. The man managed to wrap an arm around her, stepping away from Katara. The Fire Nation girl hesitantly stepped alongside him, her shoulders tense with reluctance.

A splash of water awakened Mai from her trance. Turning her head, her eyes widened when she saw the man drenched with the fluid from the punch bowl. Was that… Katara's doing? Was she an idiot? Did she not know who this man was?

"Oops," came Katara's voice in a sarcastic tone, her hands held out in front of her in a waterbending pose. Mai had to blink a couple times. The girl had done that for her sake, just like Ty Lee had stepped in for her at the Boiling Rock. But… Katara had no reason to step in; it wasn't like they were close and they weren't in any sort of danger. She really was a dramatic, impulsive girl… which piqued Mai's interest, maybe by 1%.

The man retaliated, lunging at the waterbender, but Mai was faster than him. Before anyone could process what was happening, the man's sleeve was pinned to the floor with a shuriken knife. He looked up in disbelief. Mai gave him a cold stare. "I don't want to go with you," she said in a steady voice.

By the time, she stood up, Katara had already grabbed her wrist and led them away from the crowd beginning to form around the scene. They raced down the dimly lit hallways, adrenaline pumping through their veins. Even Mai couldn't resist the curve of her lips from their previously daring actions.

They reached the balcony of the grand ballroom, tripping over their elegant, long dresses more than once.

"How can you just do that?" Mai voiced with a breath of exhilaration.

"Do what?" Katara responded, thrilled that she had gotten a reaction out of the Fire Nation girl.

"That. Stepping out of line. Doing whatever you want."

Katara straightened her attire. "You make it sound like it's a crime. You're always free to make your own decisions."

The energy presented just seconds ago seemed to fade from Mai's persona. She leaned against the balcony railings. "You're starting to sound like Zuko's uncle."

The response emitted a laugh from the waterbender. "It's true though. More than half of the things I've done wouldn't have been possible if I just thought about doing it but never actually did it. You can do anything you want too. We have more freedom than we think we do."

Mai looked out into the distance. "I know."

"Good." Katara smiled. "Now that you've confirmed that, you can do whatever you want."

There was a moment of silence as Mai gazed at the sea of stars. Katara joined her, leaning against the railings but being sure to keep a safe distance. Her face softened as she examined the royal girl beside her.

"Your parents were very controlling, weren't they?"

"If you already know, then why are you asking?"

Katara's face tightened. "It's called making conversation. The least you could do is give me a proper reply instead of saying something witty all the time. I promise my own replies won't be a waste of your time."

That cutting statement seemed to knock some sense into Mai. For the next few moments, Mai remained silent, appearing to be in deep thought. Then, without warning, she turned on her heel and headed back for the hallway. Katara watchful eyes followed the girl's departure, and she was about to yell at herself for messing it up when Mai stopped in her tracks.

"When I saved Zuko at the Boiling Rock, that was the first time I felt that my actions mattered." She paused, and then managed out with an uneven voice, "It was… different."

Katara took a step forward. "I can imagine. It must have been nice to finally make a decision of your own."

"Yeah. It was." Mai lowered her eyes, keeping her back to the waterbender. "If I asked you to describe me, what would you say?"

Katara raked her brains for an answer. Being thrown this unexpected question when she hardly knew the Fire Nation girl at all left her completely unprepared. "Well—"

"Be honest." The Fire Nation girl pivoted herself just enough to catch a glimpse of Katara's figure.

"Quiet. Doesn't express a lot of emotion. Easily bored. But you're a strong fighter with incredible aim."

"Don't try to make me feel better," Mai retorted sternly. "Your hesitation before already says a lot." Katara was about to rebuke the comment when Mai beat her to it in a softer voice. "But you're not wrong for thinking that." She was aware of the outward appearance she forced on for others, repressing her emotions and desires until the apathetic and brooding nature eventually became her identity and she no longer had to force them anymore. It became a part of her. It defined her. She sometimes wondered if losing those forced personality traits would mean losing herself, or if it would mean allowing her true self to shine through; but thinking about that at this stage was meaningless. This was who she was now. She knew others saw her as a hollow person. An empty person. It was like there was nothing inside of her and she was just existing to fulfill her parents' expectations. A mere doll. A perfect display doll. She had gotten used to playing that role. Since when? Perhaps her whole life.

But Zuko… Zuko was the one who brought that light back into her life.

In the end, Mai didn't openly express herself to Katara. She almost had, because she had agreed with the waterbender. Growing up, she had lived following her parent's order: Always being told what to do, not being able to make a decision worth calling a decision. As a result, she had no failures, but she had no successes either. Things didn't affect her as much as they should have. A lack of emotions as many would describe. She found it amusing when others would try so hard to ignite a reaction out of her and received nothing. Ty Lee and Azula were the only people who had ever accepted that as a part of her—never expecting any more or less, never blaming her for who she was. But even when she was a part of the little trio, she was under Azula's "control" (unbeknownst to Azula and others that she had the intelligence to see through all their little brainwashing tricks, which allowed her to maintain some individualism). So when she finally did break out of that orderly system and saved Zuko, it was an unusual feeling. Although the decision led her to being punished by the Princess, she could happily say that it was one of the most exhilarating moments of her life. She felt… free.

"When I met the man who murdered my mother…" Katara started in a gentle voice, "I looked straight into his eyes… and I saw right through them. I saw how empty he was. There was nothing inside of him. Nothing at all." She whispered the last few words. "And you and other people might think that you're like this man, but I can tell you that you're not. You haven't even truly lived yet." She made sure to maintain eye contact with her. "I think when you made that decision, that was the moment you finally woke up, when you started living. You're easily bored because you're not doing what you want to do."

Mai held a curious expression.

"Zuko makes you feel alive, right? You love him and that gives some meaning to your life. That passion you have for him already says that there's life in you. So use that as motivation to show the world who you really are. I know that part of you is in there. It's been itching to come out for years. So the next time I see you, you have to show me who _you_ are."

Mai kept her lips sealed shut, but a glint of light seemed to flicker past her eyes. On an exhale, she relaxed her shoulders. "The play was right. You do love to give emotional speeches."

Suddenly Katara's calm demeanor was replaced by a wildly flustered stance. "Y-you saw the play?!" Then another thought came into mind. Her cheeks flushed red as she remembered how the play portrayed the relationship between herself and Zuko. "It's completely and disastrously wrong! Don't believe a single thing about it!"

To her relief, Mai smirked. "You know I don't take anything too seriously." Funnily enough, her face turned serious again. "Except for Zuko of course."

Katara felt her heart skip a beat.

The wind blew past her, and she felt an odd sensation similar to the way she felt the tug of her element to her core.

"You know I love Aang."

"Now then, there's nothing to worry about."

From behind a royal red curtain, the Fire Lord peered out into the balcony with a smile. "Thank you, Katara," he whispered into the night.


End file.
